How does the Lord look upon us? 1 Kings 15
In the Spreaker broadcasts we have been looking at the reigns of some of the kings who ruled the twelve tribes.
I’ve been saying that David was the benchmark for Judah and for all who followed him, but I actually believe the Bible shows it was more than just being a favourite with God. Solomon was succeeded by Rehoboam(who sinned before the Lord) and Rehoboam was succeeded by Abijah. ‘He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been(the Word compared Him with David, two generations before). Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord… gave him a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong(the city where He’d put His Name). Next came Asa, who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as his father David had done. God was mindful of His covenant with David(when God speaks and promises something He has to bring it to pass) and he treated David’s descendants on the basis of what He’d previously covenanted!
Three years ago this summer, we were in the USA and a prophet spoke some things to us around a table. He’d never met us before and he told Anne in five days she would do something that would set the future course of her life and it would affect me(thanks to the help of some friends we were married within five days). He also prophesied to me part of which I’d heard before, but he gave more detail. He said that because of something that had been done four generations ago in my family, the Lord was calling me to step into a place in my life. We need to understand that our lives before God can and will impact the coming generations!
Jeroboam was two generations after David and he became the benchmark for the ten tribes of Israel, nothing good, he led the entire nation into idol worship.
When the Lord looks at you and I today, He sees us in Christ, just like He saw the kings of Judah from David. He may withhold judgement and bless us, because He sees you and I in Jesus. God does not deal with us solely on the basis of our behaviour, though that will count, but He remembers Jesus sacrifice. Please Take Note, our lives are looked at ‘in or through Christ’.
A final point from the 1 Kings 14:30, ‘ there was continual warfare between Judah and Israel’. This is mentioned a further four times in chapter 15(five times in total). David had been continually fighting the Philistines, pressure externally, but now brother fought brother and no peace. The church today has been tricked many times into fighting one another, it’s repeated here five times. We cannot be doing the enemy’s work for him if we want to walk in the blessing of God.
God bless you and keep you.